Heading into this season, they were hoping for more substance from the 24-year-old righthander who has struggled with the transition from top prospect to reliable contributor to the big-league rotation.

So far, so good.

“I think the best way I can try to categorize it is he’s on the right path, and that path is ongoing,” Toronto manager John Farrell said before Drabek’s start Wednesday in Baltimore. “I don’t think there’s an arrival spot on the path where he’s the pitcher he’ll ultimately be. I think it’s constant improvement and development and adjustment along the way.”

Drabek threw six innings in the 3-0 loss to the Orioles, allowing two runs, five hits and three walks. Wilson Betemit and Chris Davis hit solo homers to account for the two tallies. “You’ve got to make even a better pitch when you get behind in the count,” Drabek said. “And they just happened to get enough of them to get out of here.”

Through four starts this season, Drabek has compiled a nifty 2.25 ERA, but in his 24 innings, he’s allowed 18 hits (very good) and 13 walks (very bad). So far, that tiny ERA proves he’s managed to limit the potential damage.

The concern is that there’s very much a sense of déjà vu to that early trend. In his first three starts last season, Drabek had a 1.93 ERA but allowed 13 hits (very good) and 11 walks (very bad) in 18 2/3 innings. And then, the bottom quickly fell out.

When he struggled to throw strikes—which happened at some point in every start—he would get frustrated on the mound. Which, of course, led to more pitches outside the strike zone. And more frustration. In his next 11 starts covering 54 innings, he had a 7.00 ERA, allowed nine home runs and walked an unacceptable 41 batters.

It was a vicious cycle that sent him spiraling back to the minors. In his 14 starts for Toronto, Drabek walked at least three batters 13 times, and at least four batters in eight outings. He was even worse for Class AAA Las Vegas. The Pacific Coast League is, of course, a notoriously tough league for pitchers, but in 75 innings covering 15 starts, Drabek allowed 111 hits, 41 walks and 62 earned runs for an unsightly 7.44 ERA.

It was obvious that Drabek had to show more composure and maturity on the mound this season. This was the year he had to become more than just former Cy Young Award winner Doug Drabek’s kid, more than just the primary piece in the deal for franchise icon Roy Halladay. This was the year he had to be a difference-maker.

So far, so good.

“I think overall he’s doing a better job of controlling his emotions and the effort with which he executes his delivery,” Farrell said. “I thought, the other night in Kansas City, he had a tendency to try to overthrow on occasion, but that’s the way he’s wired.”

Even with the areas that are still troublesome, there’s been progress. For example, after each solo homer on Wednesday, Drabek came back with a first-pitch strike, and wound up with a strikeout—Mark Reynolds after Betemit’s blast, and Betemit after Davis’ big fly.

Drabek walked the leadoff batter in the third inning. He did the same thing again in the fourth—this one was Adam Jones, the Orioles’ free-swinging center fielder who had just one walk in 72 plate appearances heading into the game. And then he did it once more in the sixth. But not only did he keep those inopportune free passes from leading to crooked numbers on the scoreboard, he kept all three of those runners from crossing the plate.

“When he missed, he didn’t try to do too much,” Farrell said. “He relied on his two-seamer to get a ground-ball double play on a couple of occasions. Again, he will continue to be a work in progress, but he’s doing some good things on the mound.”

The evolution of his two-seam fastball has been key in Drabek’s success this season. “I threw it last year,” he said, “but I tweaked it here and there in the offseason and it got a little bit better, and I tend to use it a little bit more when I need it.”

To be more specific, it’s the movement in the strike zone produced by a two-seamer that has been key. “When he gets in fastball counts, he can move the ball off the bat head,” Farrell said. “Right from the start of spring training, the usage of that pitch when he was in fastball counts, you saw some hard contact, but it was on the ground. I think that gives him some relaxation to continue to trust his stuff in the strike zone.”

When Drabek trusts that pitches in the strike zone won’t get crushed, he won’t try to nibble on the corners as much. When he stops nibbling so much, he’ll stop walking so many batters. And when he stops walking so many batters, he’ll stop getting so frustrated and be able to better control his emotions on the mound.

“He’s a competitive guy,” Farrell said. “And as long as we continue to channel that emotion in the right way, then I think at a greater percentage, he’s going to execute a pitch from pitch to pitch.”